PUEBLO, Colo. – Colorado State University Pueblo Baseball continues its season-long 11-game road swing this coming weekend (April 21-23) as they play a four-game Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference series in Alamosa, Colo., against Adams State.

The series with Adams State begins with a single game on Friday, April 21 at 2 p.m., before playing a doubleheader on Saturday, April 22 beginning at 12 p.m. and then concluding the series with a 12 p.m. game on Sunday, April 23.

The ThunderWolves come into this weekend's Adams State series sporting a 16-25 overall record and are tied with Colorado School of Mines for fourth in the RMAC with a 12-12 record with three weeks remaining in the regular season. The top six teams at the end of the regular season qualify for the RMAC Tournament, which is scheduled for May 10-13 at the site of the regular season champion.

CSU Pueblo, who is coached by Bobby Applegate, have won four of its last five games with the lone loss being a 12-7 setback in its series finale this past Sunday at Colorado Christian. The Pack have won three of its six RMAC series this season and split its series with Mines, while getting swept in series' against MSU Denver and Colorado Mesa.

The Pack and the Grizzlies have faced other 68 times previously on the diamond with the Pack holding a 52-16 lead in the all-time series. The Pack have won three of the last five games in the series, including splitting last year's series in Alamosa. In that series, the Pack won the opener (9-8) and the series finale (27-6), but lost both games of the doubleheader – 8-3 and 12-11. CSU Pueblo leads the series, 33-8 in Pueblo and also holds a 19-8 mark in Alamosa. The Pack are 41-14 in RMAC play against the Grizzlies.  

Following this weekend's series with Adams State, the Pack will play a mid-week game next Wednesday, April 26 at Northern Colorado and then will conclude the regular season on May 4-6 as they host Regis for a four-game home RMAC series.

ABOUT CSU PUEBLO
The Pack comes into this weekend's action hitting .329 as a team (459-for-1,397) with 300 runs scored, 102 doubles, an RMAC-leading 18 triples and 32 home runs. The Pack are averaging 7.3 runs per game and have recorded a slugging percentage of .496 and an on-base percentage of .405. The Pack have also stolen 54 bases, which is fourth-best in the league and are averaging 1.32 steals per game. In RMAC play, the Pack are hitting .341 as a team and have recorded 274 hits, scored 189 runs, hit 56 doubles, 13 triples and 24 home runs and have had 175 RBI. They have a .533 slugging percentage and a .408 on-base percentage.

Senior first baseman Reggie Williams (Castle Rock, Colo./Douglas County) continues to be one of the top hitters in Division II baseball as he enters the week sporting a .443 batting average, which is third-best in the RMAC and 10th nationally. Williams leads the team in hits (68), runs scored (49), doubles (18), walks (24), on-base percentage (.543) and is fifth in RBI (28) and third in stolen bases (8). His .543 on-base percentage is second in the league and 11th nationally and his 68 hits are fifth-most in the RMAC. His 54 career doubles are fifth-most among active Division II players. In RMAC play, Williams is hitting .443 with 39 hits, 35 runs scored, nine doubles, one home run, 17 RBI and has an on-base percentage of .541 and a slugging percentage of .580.

In addition to Williams, junior designated hitter Christian Casteneda (El Paso, Texas/Otero JC) is just one point under .400 on the season as he is hitting .399 as he is second on the team in both hits (55) and doubles (15), is fourth in runs scored with 29 and leads the team in home runs with six and had had 34 RBI. He has a .652 slugging percentage and a .444 on-base percentage. Casteneda is currently in the midst of a six-game hitting streak and is hitting. 376 in RMAC games with 35 hits, 16 runs scored, eight doubles, one triple, five home runs and 28 RBI.

On the season, seven Pack players have recorded at least 40 hits and seven have scored at least 20 runs and five have hit 10 or more doubles in 41 games.

Casteneda, junior catcher Brady Prewitt (Raytown, Mo./Iowa Western CC) and sophomore third baseman Kysen Howard (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley Northwest) have provided the top power numbers in the Pack line-up as those three have combined to hit 16 home runs and record 112 RBI and a .565 slugging percentage. Casteneda leads the way with six home runs and 34 RBI, while Prewitt leads the team in RBI with 46 and has hit five home runs and has a .547 slugging percentage and Howard has hit five home runs and has had 33 RBI and 49 hits.

Senior centerfielder Noah Hennings (Draper, Utah/Southern Idaho) is second in runs scored with 35 and has had 45 hits, 10 doubles, two triples, four home runs and is 9-for-11 on stolen bases.
Williams leads the team in multi-hit games with 20, while Casteneda has had 18 and sophomore rightfielder Elijah Borjas (Denver, Colo./Lakewood), while Prewitt leads in multiple RBI games with 16 and Borjas is second with 12 multiple RBI contests.

On the mound, the Pack have a team ERA of 7.41, which is fourth-best in the RMAC. The Pack's pitchers have struck out 275 and walked just 145 in 335.1 innings of work. Opposing hitters are batting .337 on the year against Pack pitching. The team's 1.90 strikeout-to-walk ratio is fourth-best in the league, while its 7.4 strikeouts per nine innings is also fourth-best in the league.

In RMAC play, the Pack's pitching staff has recorded a 6.87 ERA as a team and in 190 innings of work, they have tossed two complete games, one shutout, have four saves and have struck out 160 and walked 76.

Junior Tyler Curtis (Las Vegas, Nev./Southern Idaho) has been the team's top pitcher this he has a 3-2 record and a 4.88 ERA. In a team-leading 62.2 innings of work, he has struck out 42 and walked just eight as his 5.25 strikeout-to-walk ratio is tops in the league, while his three complete games are tied for the most in the league. Junior Zach Pratt (Belton, Mo./Metropolitan CC) has a 3-2 record and a 5.24 ERA. In 56.2 innings of work, Pratt has recorded a team-leading 57 strikeouts and has walked 22. His 57 strikeouts are third-most in the league, while his 9.05 strikeouts per nine innings are second-best in the league.

The team's No. 3 starter in league play has been junior Nick Perry (Denton, Texas/Richland CC). Perry is 2-4 with a 6.05 ERA as he has made nine appearances and seven starts and in 37.1 innings of work, he has struck out 40 and walked 19.

The top arms out of the bullpen this season for the Pack have been junior Dylan Weaver (Fruita, Colo./Highland CC), sophomore Travis Farrell (Las Vegas, Nev./Otero JC) and sophomore Jacob Petersheim (Broadway, Va./Broadway). Those three pitchers have combined to make 38 appearances with Weaver having made a team-best 14, while Petersheim has made 13 and Farrell 11. Weaver is 3-3 with a 5.87 ERA and has tossed 23.0 innings and has recorded 22 strikeouts and walked 12, while Farrell has a 1-1 record and 6.75 ERA and in 22.2 innings, he has struck out 17 and walked 12 and Petersheim has an 0-2 record and a 9.55 ERA as in 21.2 innings, he has struck out 15 and walked nine.

Petersheim and graduate student reliever Ruben Portillo (Thornton, Colo./Eastern Arizona CC) are tied for the team lead in saves with two.

The Pack are fourth in the league in fielding percentage at .965 as they have committed 50 errors in 41 games and have turned 29 double plays, which is third-most in the league. The Pack, though, have struggled leaving runners on base they have stranded 320 runners in 41 games and are averaging 7.8 runners left on base per game this season. In RMAC play, the Pack have a .960 fielding percentage and have committed 32 errors in 24 games and have turned 16 double plays and have left 171 runners on base.

SCOUTING ADAMS STATE
The Grizzlies come into this weekend's action sporting a 10-27 overall record and a 5-15 mark in the RMAC. The Grizzles have lost four straight games and eight of its last nine games overall with the lone win being a 10-8 home win over Mines on April 8. Since that win, ASU was swept in four-game RMAC series last weekend at MSU Denver. In those four games, the Grizzlies were outscored, 45-14.

As a team, ASU is hitting .319 (389-for-1,219) on the season as they have scored 237 runs, hit 71 doubles, nine triples, 26 home runs and have an on-base percentage of .394 and an slugging percentage of .456. The Grizzlies have also stolen 18 bases and are averaging 6.4 runs per game.

Leading the way offensively for the Grizzlies is junior first baseman Matt Bathauer, who is hitting .421 and leads the team in home runs (8), slugging percentage (.669), on-base percentage (.467) and is second in hits (56) and tied for fifth in runs scored with 23. His eight home runs are 10th-most in the league, while his .421 batting average is eighth in the league.

In addition to Bathauer, redshirt sophomore middle infielder Joseph Raker is also hitting over .400 on the season as he is hitting .407 and leads the team in hits (59), runs scored (36), doubles (14), triples (3) and is tied for the team-lead in stolen bases with four. Raker's three triples are third-most in the league, while his 59 hits are eighth-most in the league.

On the season, Adams State has five regulars in its line-up hitting over .300 and has had five players record 40 or more hits and six players score 20 or more runs. Three players have hit two or more triples and three players have hit six or more home runs.

The Grizzlies have recorded 106 extra-base hits on the season as they have hit 71 doubles, nine triples and 26 home runs and are 18-for-30 on stolen bases.

Adams State's pitching staff has recorded a 10.32 ERA on the season as they have tossed 274.2 innings and have recorded 205 strikeouts and 187 walks. Opposing hitters are batting .372 against the Grizzlies this season.

Headlining the Adams State pitching staff is sophomore right-hander Connor Murray. Murray is 1-3 with a 7.21 ERA as he has made nine starts and has thrown one of the Grizzlies' two complete games. In a team-best 43.2 innings, Murray has struck out 30 and walked 18.

Redshirt sophomore Cesar Loma is 2-4 with an 8.15 ERA as he also has started nine games and tossed a complete game. In 38.2 innings, he has recorded 34 strikeouts and walked 21, while redshirt junior Anthony Bleggi has made nine appearances and seven starts and is 1-2 with a 9.29 ERA. In 41.2 innings, which are second-most on the team, he has struck out 33 and walked 23.

Leading the way out of the bullpen for Adams State has been graduate student Kamden Kautz. Kautz is 2-4 with a 7.94 ERA and in a team-best 19 appearances, he has recorded one save and made one start. In 22.2 innings, he has struck out 18 and walked 12. In addition to Kautz, Raker is third in the league in saves with four as he is 0-2 with a 13.50 ERA. In six appearances, he has tossed 5.1 innings and has struck out five and walked three.

ASU is coached by Bruce DelTondo, who is in his third season at the helm of the Grizzlies baseball program. The 1994 Adams State graduate is 25-92 at his alma mater, but the 10 wins this season are the most of the program since winning 13 games during the 2017 season.